Can I Go Nowhere With You
by Phantom Creedy Lover
Summary: Rowena knew she really should've seen joining all of the factions she was in coming back to bite her someday. She just wished that when everything started to go downhill she wasn't recovering from a job gone wrong after her short-lived retirement. Eventual Brynjolf/F!DB. Spoilers for all DLCs.
1. Chapter 1

Brynjolf looked on idly as Delvin over-enthusiastically listened as little Runa and Hroar recalled one of their latest adventures to the pair of them. He loved the little monsters, thought he would never admit it, and was interested in their story, but he had a job waiting for their adopted mother that was all but made for her.

"And the hare was _this big_!"

"_That_ big?! Did you use your slingshot, or the bow and arrow that we got you?"

"My slingshot. Ma says I'm not allowed to use the bow and arrow you got me, even if it's just a toy. Say, do you think you can give me a real one soon?"

Delvin chuckled. "Maybe soon, but we have to do it on your Mum's time. I've been on the other end of her wrath before, I'm never doing it again."

"Uncle Bryn doesn't seem to mind!" Hroar pointed out.

Delvin opened his mouth to respond, then thought better of it and grinned.

"Oi! Don't bring me into this!" Brynjolf teased. After a moment, he grinned and leaned forward. "Speaking of that bow and arrow why don't you get it for me and I'll fix it up for you so you can try getting birds now,"

Hroar beamed before hurrying down the flight of stairs to his and Runa's room.

"She's gonna kill you this time, you know that?" Delvin asked.

Brynjolf shrugged. "Ro's barely ever in these parts these days. Off travelling to new lands, I'm surprised those two even still call her 'Ma', since they have us and the other housecarls watching them more than 'er."

"She was retired from most of that business," Delvin pointed out, leaning forward so they could have the hushed conversation without worrying the kids. "It's not her fault the requests for her help piled up. I mean-"

Both jumped when there was a rather loud slam from the foyer, and a moment later, a stranger turned the corner with something distinctly human hoisted over one shoulder. He was wearing some sort of armor neither had seen, made from some unfortunate animals' chitin, by the looks of it, and he just stood by, watching them silently for a moment before the thieves hurried to action.

Delvin put himself between the stranger's path and the staircase, barking at Runa and Hroar to stay put, and Brynjolf drew his sword. The latter was about to make a threat until he realized he knew the person the man was holding. Pale skin, long black hair that twisted in the back, all wrapped up in ebony mail. "He's got Ro," he reported before glancing at the stranger. "If you're looking for a ransom on the Dragonborn, I think you'll find that her allies will gladly kill you before you have the chance to get it,"

"I'm not here for ransom, I'm here because she called this place home and clearly she's not in any shape to be bringing herself, so if you would lower your weapon," the man began.

"Put her down," Brynjolf snarled.

"Your friend would have to let me through to do that. Now who are you?" the stranger demanded.

"I could ask you the same," Brynjolf challenged.

"Teldryn Sero, at your service- or Rowena's, anyway."

Brynjolf's eyes flicked to the unconscious woman at the mention of her name. "What did you do to her?"

"I did nothing except drag her half dead body onto a boat and back here, you ingrate! Now I asked you a question. According to her notes this is her home and she didn't speak of a husband."

"We're friends,"

"Good. So am I. Can I put the lady down now?"

"Uncle Bryn! What's going on?" Runa called from downstairs.

Brynjolf flinched. Of course the girl would give herself and Hroar away. "Nothing, Runa! Stay down there!"

"But-"

"Runa!" Brynjolf barked, and that effectively silenced her. Brynjolf looked back at Teldryn, and to his surprise, he was still waiting to be directed over. "Give her to me,"

"I told you my name, you tell me yours before we continue."

Brynjolf studied him, but sighed. He had a point. "That's Delvin, I'm Brynjolf-"

"And your relation to Rowena-"

"Family," Delvin interrupted. "Now give us our girl."

They could both tell the man was sizing them up under the mask.

Teldryn finally spoke up again. "That's… Thieves Guild armor, isn't it? Forgive me if I don't trust you-"

Delvin snorted. "Then if you're really her friend you're putting your trust in the wrong people. She runs the bloody operation. Now hand her over," he repeated. "We don't do well when strangers have one of our own."

Teldryn hesitated, then nodded and eased the Dragonborn off her shoulder and passed her over to Brynjolf, who carried her to her room and laid her on the bed. He looked her over, pushing the hair from her face. "She's running a fever. Delvin, get Vekel. He'll have some supplies."

"On it," Delvin replied before leaving.

Brynjolf glanced over at Teldryn. "Any chance you'll take the helmet off, Friend?"

"Not one. So, are all Skyrim people this welcoming?"

"Only when our land's hero who happens to be a close friend looks dead and is carried in by a sketchy stranger," Brynjolf shot back. "Now, what happened? Be quick, and be honest. We're not ones for lies- and nor are two twins who have taken a shining to her and would gladly rip a man's head off for messing with her."

"Ah. Those two must be Farkas and Vilkas. She mentioned them. Mentioned the Guild, too."

"Then why the fuss of not giving her back?"

"Because she pays well and I wanted to make sure we talked things out before a fight may have happened and she might've gotten hurt."

Brynjolf rolled his eyes.

And then from downstairs came two calls of "Uncle Bryn!" again, and he went over to close the wooden hatch door that Delvin had suggested installing after a new thief attempted to break in and got in the basement- where Rowena kept most of her valuables at the time.

"I'm not one to harm children," Teldryn pointed out.

"I'm not taking chances."

The pair glared each other down before a weak moan came from the bed. "Stop… stop… fight'n,"

Brynjolf sent Teldryn a warning look before closing the distance between him and her and taking her hand. "What was that, Lass?"

"I… no fighting," Rowena repeated, squeezing her eyes shut as if just thinking about moving hurt. Knowing how determined she got with her missions, it probably did.

Brynjolf frowned and watch the woman tremble as her body tried to fight whatever was going on ."Any ideas what this is from, Ro? Poison? Spell?"

She shook her head, then flinched and attempted to curl in on herself. "Are the kids…?"

"They're fine. They're in their room. I've got them."

Rowena nodded, then prodded his arm. "Trust Teldryn… he looks rough around the edges but he's okay."

Brynjolf's frown deepened. "Vekel's on his way. Can I… can I do anything?"

"Just… try not to start anything when I'm out… and killing makes for… bad things,"

Brynjolf leaned forward and tried not to make a face. She knew he wasn't one for killing, so where'd that come from? Of course he wasn't going to kill the person. Besides, she had found her start in the Dark Brotherhood before leaving after one too many innocents were slain, and then moved onto the Companions and then came to him. She had no qualms about killing before, and had been almost okay with going against them and killing people who gave them trouble, so why start caring now. "Lass?" He moved her hair again. "What happened?"

" 'Nother… Dragonborn," she curled in on herself again. "Hurt… alone,"

Brynjolf leaned forward. "Alone? Hold on. Did you just say another Dragonborn? How …?"

"Bryn, tired. Can we…?"

Brynjolf gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze in agreement, then nodded. "Try to hang in there, Ro," he replied. "Vekel's on his way to get you sorted out," he assured her, then smiled weakly when he noticed she was out cold already. He stood slowly, then looked at Teldryn, motioning at the chair. "Sit. Where did you find her?"

"She was out cold in Raven Rock. There was… trouble. I don't know all the details. There were books… books that some people say were living. I didn't see it, but… she just showed up out cold, came to long enough to tell me to come here," he replied. "Though I doubted she would lower herself to such standard surroundings if she's Dragonborn…"

"They aren't her usual. She has an estate near Falkreath. She came here to get away from that life for a time,"

"A lot of good that did her," Teldryn replied.

Brynjolf shot him a glare. "She put me in charge of this place when she left to… wherever she found you. I will throw you out if you disrespect the lass or our home."

"I'd like to see you try," Teldryn countered.

Brynjolf growled and stood up, only to glance over when Delvin and Vekel stepped inside, the latter with a satchel slung over his shoulder. He got up. "We don't know what's wrong. He found her," he reported, watching the bartender dig into his bag and take out three different potions and look from the woman and back for a moment before waving Brynjolf away.

"What-"

"Things may get ugly with any of this, Brynjolf. I'm your best, but… I've never seen her like this," Vekel replied, then finally seemed to noticed Teldryn in the corner. "And who's this?"

"A friend," Teldryn replied before Brynjolf could respond.

"Cryptic," Vekel blinked. "Where are the little ones?"

Brynjolf tapped the hatch a couple of times with the toe of his boot.

Vekel nodded after a moment. "Maybe it's best they stay there for a while. Delvin, last I asked, they like you better, so you might be preferred to explain."

Delvin nodded, then paused and nodded at Teldryn. "What're we doing with him?"

Brynjolf sighed. "He stays, but not here. The Bee and the Barb is the place for you now," he replied, glancing at Teldryn.

"How hospitable of you and your people," Teldryn deadpanned, then stood slowly. "If she gets worse, find someone to tell me, would you? It's best she has someone who cares as opposed to not doing a damn thing and pointing fingers about where her allegiances lie," he added before getting up and walking out.

After Vekel unstopped one of the vials, he nodded at the door. "Who was that?"

Brynjolf shrugged. "Still not entirely sure about that myself,"

"… Do we need Dirge?"

"Not yet, but… who knows if that'll change in the future."

* * *

Teldryn was quite pleased when, three days later, Brynjolf showed up at the Bee and Barb, looking tired, hesitant, and quite miffed. His satisfaction grew when the Nord approached him. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Troubles, Master Thief?"

Brynjolf shot him a glare. He inhaled sharply. "I'm sorry for my rudeness. Rowena's awake but not saying much, but she did send me to bring you back to Honeyside, where you're perfectly welcome,"

Teldryn smirked at how terribly rehearsed the apology was- not that the Nord was trying to sound sincere begin with. "I assume she told you to say all that?"

Brynjolf didn't respond.

"Well, I could, but there was a traveler looking for a companion and he paid well-"

Brynjolf reached over, grabbed him by the back of his armor and started dragging him towards the door. "I'd say the Dragonborn takes precedent, don't you?"

"Depends who's asking," Teldryn replied, and didn't let the other man notice how the next shake jarred him for a moment.

Then again, that was the cost of befriending a boss who just happened to be the Dragonborn and Gods only knew what else. This was going to get interesting. He couldn't wait to see where it went.


	2. Chapter 2

Brynjolf glanced over when he saw movement come from the master bedroom and frowned as he saw Rowena in the process of getting to her feet for the fifth time in the last hour. "Ro…" he warned.

"I'm fine, Bryn…" Rowena muttered. "I just… need some time," she added, wandering over to get a drink of water before heading back over to the bed. She sat on it carefully. "Are Runa and Hroar…?"

"They're fine, Lass. They're worried about you. They actually argued with me about practicing with sword for the first time in favor of staying with you," he replied, going to sit beside her.

Rowena sighed and flinched, leaning forward. "Take those away from them, will you? I know they like them, but… I don't…"

Brynjolf watched her. He had seen her upset. He had seen her furious. He had seen her disappointed. He had seen her distrusting. But this? She was broken, and he had never seen her like that before. She had all the reason in the world to be broken and she had prevailed up until then. "Lass, what happened out there?" He put his hand on her shoulder and she shrugged it off before leaning back on the bed. He turned to look at her. He scooted back. "Talk to me, Lass. Not talking isn't going to get you far. "

Rowena turned. "I… became an endangered species of _one_, that's what happened."

Brynjolf scooted back. "How do you figure that, Lass?" he asked. The front door opened and when Delvin stepped in, the pair simply looked at each other before Brynjolf looked back at Rowena. "Well, go on."

Rowena flinched. "Well, I told you- started to tell you, anyway. When I was in Whiterun, these cultists attacked me. Dragonborn Cultists, they called themselves…"

"If they're cultists for… you, why would they attack the real article?" Delvin cut in, leaning on the wall. "A bit… counterproductive, in'nit?"

"Because I wasn't the only one," Rowena replied. "Not at that point anyway."

The men frowned. "What?"

Rowena sighed and sat up. "I… I had dealings with Hermaeus Mora before, and I just had them again, and… he had another Dragonborn on his side. Miraak. Apparently the Greybeards thought they should leave that little detail out. He was… he was a tyrant, but he was… he tried to kill me time and time again, but he had…he was just following orders, and Mora's influence."

"Worst kind of people 'just follow orders', Boss. Ulfric's boys and girls-"

"I was one of them," Rowena cut him off. "I didn't agree with a thing they said or believed in, but I thought… I didn't… I-"

"We know, Love. But took Shadowmere and beat them all to Whiterun, helped with the city's defenses, saved people, gave them protection- Balgruff would be dead if it wasn't for you! Ulfric is dead because he charged you for betraying him and you stabbed him on reflex. You've spared a bunch of people misery, Boss. That's all we could ask for," Delvin replied. "Point is the other ones followed his orders and killed blindly because it was in the job description."

"A dark Daedric Prince, though, Lass?" Brynjolf backtracked. "Nocturnal's one thing, and we heard about Molag Bal and the spot you were in, but…"

"I thought it would be okay, just like most of the other times. They all trapped me, but nothing came from it. I… … the first time I had no choice, and this one I didn't know until it was too late," Rowena replied. "I just… point is Miraak. He failed, so Mora killed him, and… I just… I don't want to be a pawn anymore. I don't want to be any of their pawns. I don't want to fight. I'm done. They can all fight their own battles now."

Brynjolf squeezed her shoulder.

She sat up. "I… I think I need some time, just… away. I'm going to stay in Lakeview Manor. Do you think you can handle forwarding business that way?"

"Delvin?" Brynjolf redirected the question.

Delvin nodded. "Consider it done. Anything else?"

Rowena gawked at him for a moment as she noticed he had even entered the house. "I uh… I had something… for Sapphire. I need… I need to stop at the Guild before I leave. This is personal… on her part more than mine."

"Fine. We'll go and then we'll head to Lakeview," Brynjolf got up and offered his hand.

Rowena took it hesitantly and let him help her up. " 'We'?"

"I'm not letting you go anywhere on your own like this-"

"I've-"

"Not like before. Delvin and Vex can take care of the Guild when we're gone-"

"Delvin and Vekel or Tonila. No Vex. And I can shout people to pieces, Bryn. I'm fine."

Brynjolf snorted at the fact that even in her state she could voice her distaste for the other female thief and be headstrong as per usual when she assumed people doubted her. He looked over his shoulder. "Hear that, Delvin?"

"Loud and clear," Delvin nodded.

Brynjolf turned his attention back to the Dragonborn and motioned at the door. "And you might be able to but you may still need help. No arguing. Pack some things and then leave. I'll meet you out there."

Rowena shot him a suspicious look, then shrugged it off. "We can't just leave Teldryn…"

"Why not?" Brynjolf asked. He frowned and rolled his eyes when she shot him a warning look. "Fine, go get him, then we'll meet you."

"Sounds like a deal," Rowena headed for the door and tried to hide the fact she stumbled on the way back to her room. She moved on when she realized she succeeded and went to pack.

Delvin watched her leave, then glanced at Brynjolf. "By the way, I figured she'd want to go to Lakeview, so I arranged a visitor that'll heighten her spirits,"

"Oh?"

"Not gonna bother sayin'. Gives me about a week's head start to avoid you."

"I- Who is it, Del?" Brynjolf asked, moving aside to let Rowena pass. He glanced at the back slung over her shoulder. Lighter than usual. Had the encounter that bad?

"You'll find out. Now go get your girl."

"She's-"

"She_ is_, and you should go before she goes stumbling off one of the docks,"

Brynjolf swore before calling for Hroar and Runa and hurrying out of the house.

He wasn't sure what to think when they had reached the Guild and Rowena went straight to Sapphire, not once paying any heed to Vex giving her a hard time about being gone so long like she usually did. She just handed a letter to the younger woman, Sapphire read it, the pair had a hushed conversation, and that was that. He had watched as Rune and the kids had a conversation, wondering just how and why the kids had grown accustomed to having their adopted mother hanging out with their sort- and then loving everyone involved in the Guild afterwards.

Rowena found him again, and they were on their way.

* * *

When they reached the stables, however, Brynjolf watched Rowena turn from the cart and its rider to the stables themselves. His heart sunk when she approached the one thing that he had hoped wasn't coming with them.

The beast turned its glowing red eyes on him as if reading his thoughts, and he turned abruptly, pretending to be far more interested in the kids looking apprehensive than at it. He didn't mind seeing Teldryn do a double take at the thing, either. He wandered over to the stable hand to negotiate prices for all of the horses he had, breaking and looking back at the sight that had him so worried every so often. He managed to go through with it, paid the man after telling them to wait on a new convenient delivery of horses and went back to the group.

"It's just a horse, Bryn,"

"Quite the… horse," Teldryn cut in.

Brynjolf spared a glance at the mercenary. Well, maybe he wasn't so bad. He looked back at Rowena, who was glancing back at him as she gave Shadowmere a few slow pets on the neck. "Demon horse, Lass! There's a difference! And you want these two with it?" he pointed at Hroar and Runa.

"We're okay!" Runa objected.

"We like Shadowmere!" Hroar agreed.

Brynjolf shot them a glare, then went over to the last horse to strap their bags onto its saddle before climbing onto the one next to it. "Come on you two. We have quite the trip ahead," he reported to the kids, only to find them arguing… again.

"But I want the white one!" Hroar objected

"Don't lie! You want the brown one because Uncle Bryn has it! You just say you want the white one to be mean to me!"

"Kids…" Rowena sighed. "It sounded like you said the truth there, Runa, so you get the white one and Hroar gets the brown one, and we can move on."

"Yes, Mama…" the children chorused before heading for their respective horses. Brynjolf helped them up, and once they were settled, he looked back at his leader. "Where to first, Ro?"

"Sarethi Farm. I owe the lady there a few things, then… well, I guess we'll work from there."

"Sounds like a plan."

It had been a quiet journey to the farm. Once they got there it had been a simple task of delivering ingredients to the owner and then harvesting cabbage and getting paid for the work. Honest work- Brynjolf was finally getting the charm. He only wished it paid better.

Once they moved on, of course, nothing could go as smoothly for a mercenary, one of the heads of the Thieves Guild, and the Dragonborn.

They were attacked by a pack of wolves, a sabre cat, a bear all within one hour. And then a dragon, a troll and a Dragon Priest all at once. They managed to put up a good fight, making quick work of the troll, and Rowena took down the dragon with a fair bit of difficulty.

It had taken another ten minutes to get the Priest weak enough for them to do any major damage. But once Rowena got even a slight advantage and shouted fire at it and Teldryn went for a killing blow, she collapsed.

"Ro!" Brynjolf barked, skidding to a halt beside her in order to hoist her up into his lap, seeing her barely maintaining consciousness. He glanced over towards Teldryn to make sure the priest was dead, and upon seeing the mercenary watching them beside a pile of ashes, he turned his attention back to her. "Lass, stay with me!"

"Shoulda taken a cart," she deadpanned.

Brynjolf forced a laugh. "Next time. Hell, if we find a caravan we'll stay with them. I told you you couldn't do this on your own."

She reached up and patted his cheek. "You're so smart, you know that? Why don't I listen?"

"Because you're a fool," Brynjolf replied, then glanced over, finally remembering the two missing parties from their group. "Hroar! Runa!" he looked frantically towards the tree that Rowena had ordered them to hide behind. He sighed in relief when they peeked out from behind it, looking unharmed. "Get the potion in the big vial in your Ma's pack, the red one!"

Hrorar scrambled for Shadowmere, got the intended potion then ran to him with it. "Is she gonna be okay?!"

Brynjolf glanced down to see if Rowena was still awake, onlyo to find that wasn't the case. "I don't know, Lad. Go-"

"Go by Shadomere, son. Leave this one to the adults for a while,"

Hroar looked back at Runa, then to Teldryn and then Brynjolf. He gave a skeptical look to the latter.

Brynjolf nodded. "Do it, Lad. She's in good hands."

Hroar backed up quickly, looking back to watch as Brynjolf unstoppered the bottle and tipped it to Rowena's lips.

Teldryn glanced at Brynjolf. "You sure that's not one of your magical cures?"

Brynjolf shot him a look. "She told you about those, hm?"

"Delvin Mallory's brother did,"

Brynjolf let himself wonder why Delvin had let that detail slip before he felt Rowena breathe heavily. "Lass?" he looked back down, to find that she was still out but her breathing had improved. He sighed and hoisted her onto his shoulder. "Come on. I don't want the little one's spooked. We'll let the potions do the trick as we go,"

"Fair enough," Teldryn replied. "Well, she was our navigator, so where are we going this time?"

"We'll stick to the path this time," Brynjolf replied. "And I'm sure we'll find a homestead. Last I checked Ro has contacts in Ivarstead, so we'll rest up there."

"Ivarstead?"

Brynjolf glanced at him. "You're more of a newcomer than I thought, then."

Teldryn shrugged. "Last I checked being a tourist has no connection with being paid muscles,"

Brynjolf smirked, then arched an eyebrow. "Fair enough," he echoed. "Look, Runa looks ready to cry, so we best get back to them before the waterworks start. I hate when the waterworks start."


	3. Chapter 3

Within a few hours, Brynjolf was relieved to find that Rowena had come-to again after the latest spiel and looked more… alive then she had in the last few days. She was more alert, she was sitting up on Shadowmere, she even smiled every once in a while if a fox crossed their path and stopped to look at them before scurrying away. He had even noticed Teldryn seemed to relax upon her change as well. How was it that she could have so many people easily won over?

A rustling came from the bushes, killing whatever thought he was about to have next. They readied their weapons and magic, and when a bear came charging through the greenery, they were all set to fight until a man came running after it, sword drawn with a battle cry to boot before it was him that killed it.

Teldryn practically growled from his spot behind the group and readied a fireball for the apparent bandit, until Rowena cut him off again.

"Farkas?!"

The bandit stopped and looked at her and the look of rage dropped and he honestly beamed. "Rowa?!"

"Fark!" Rowena repeated with a laugh. She practically swung herself off of her horse before hurrying over to hug the man.

Brynjolf was a third relieved, third pissed off, and a third confused. He liked Farkas; there was a certain charm that the man had that one couldn't ignore, and Brynjolf had enjoyed his company during the brief matter of hours he had been with him when he and Rowena had to stop at Whiterun before heading to the Sanctum. He had almost felt bad lying to the man about being a stall vendor. Almost. And now he had made Rowena laugh after not so much as smiling for days, which was music to his ears after trying and trying to dig her out. That being said, it wasn't him or Delvin or even their latest companion who hadn't gotten to that no matter how hard they tried. And what kind of nickname was _Rowa_? It made sense, but she was _Ro_. And only he and the rest of the Guild were allowed to call her that.

But alas, she didn't sense his annoyance like she usually did. She just kept hugging the man, and after a few moments her grip loosened and it was like she was getting completely lost in it.

And then Hroar and Runa were next to their mother and Farkas, just as excited as she had been. They were both firing off question after question and trying to outdo each other with how much they had missed him.

Farkas, to his credit, merely laughed, ruffled their hair and asked how 'You Pups' had been. Once that was over with he nodded at Brynjolf, and when who he had been told was a Stall Merchant nodded in return, he glanced at Teldryn. He frowned and looked back at Rowena. "Who's the one in the fancy armor?"

"A friend from Solstheim," Rowena replied.

"Solstheim? What brought you there?!" Farkas asked.

"It's a long story. Who are you travelling with?"

As if on cue, Ria came jogging from down the hill ."Farkas, where- Rowena!" she quickened her pace and all but tackled the woman into a hug. "Where have you been, it's been months!" she pulled back, still holding her appointed best friend's shoulders in a vicegrip.

"Around, and then Solstheim for a while, if you didn't hear. What are you doing all the way out here?"

"Hostage situation. You of all people should've seen that coming over here," Ria pointed out, and then stopped to hug the children before noticing the two strangers, just as Farkas had. "Who're Handsome Redhead and the walking mudcrab over there?"

Brynjolf snorted and for the first time hoped that Teldryn hadn't actually had the helmet on, just to see the other's reaction before he mock bowed. "Brynjolf, at your service, lass. I'm a stall vendor in Riften. I must've missed you when we stopped by Jorvaskkr."

"Must've," Ria nodded, then looked at Teldryn.

"Teldryn Sero, Mercenary," the dark elf replied.

Brynjolf smirked. At least he was honest. He glanced at the Companions, surprised that they made no negative reaction at the mention of less-than-pleasant job.

Ria offered another smile before looking back at Rowena.

"What they said," the Dragonborn replied.

Ria laughed. "So, what has you coming East from Riften, hm? Usually you go in a circle and work your way there from our place."

"I'm… … I need a long vacation, and these two have volunteered to escort me. Well, one did and the other's along for the ride."

Both men shrugged dismissively.

"Oh, what gentleman," Ria teased. "And vacation? Why not stay with us?"

"A non-working vacation, Ria," Rowena added. "It hasn't exactly been a pleasant couple of weeks for me, and I just need time-"

"DRAGON!" Farkas suddenly barked, and Rowena out and out groaned when she watched the telltale shadow of the beast pass over them.

Brynjolf dismounted his horse and jabbed a finger at the nearest rock formation. "Hr-"

"We're going!" the kids shouted over the dragon's roar. It had spotted them. Great.

Brynjolf glanced at Rowena, going back to back with her as the two Companions scrambled for higher ground to get an advantage. "You think you're up for this one again, Lass? The last one took a lot out of you."

"It's just the one, and no priest is in sight, Bryn. I'll be fine, and if not… well, that's why we have about thirty potions between us, right?" she countered, readying an arrow

"Not exactly the answer that I was going for, but it'll do."

"Fine then. I'll go ensure we'll be okay. Give me a second, and by all means: don't attack the red one,"

"The red what?"

"O-DAH-VIING!" Rowena called. "Fark! Ria! Don't attack the red one!" she called, seeing the pair still trying to make it up the hill. She turned her attention back to their attacker. It was gold. An elder. Great. She saw it prepare to breathe, and shoved Brynjolf out of the way. "Go, go, go!" she scrambled for ebony arrows and got one ready, fighting off the blast of cold that followed. She fired off three arrows and then rolled away. She sighed in relief when she heard Odahviing's own roar in the distance.

"Lass…"

Rowena made what sounded like a forced laugh this time. "It's okay, Bryn. This one's okay."

"I- what?"

And then the ground shakes because Odavigg dropped out of the sky to land in front of Rowena and was now snapping his jaws at the Elder dragon's neck and blasting it with fire in turn.

She fired off a few more arrows, and between the fire, arrows and occasional sword hits that her companions were laying into it, the elder dragon let its final roar out before collapsing, dead.

Rowena sighed deeply, and then frowned when Odahviing craned his neck to look at her curiously before taking off. He had never done that before. Ever. Maybe he had sensed the earlier trouble. Damn. "Thank you!" she called after it, all the same.

"What was that, Ro? You're friends with them, now!?" Brynjolf blurted as everyone started to regroup.

"Just that one," she replied simply. "Are all of you alright?"

"Aside from the fact I can't wrap my head around you trusting a dragon? Fine," Teldryn replied.

Rowena looked at Ria and Farkas to find they looked just as confused as the other two. "I've called Odahviing when I was with you two!" she objected.

"Yeah, but… we've never… you've never actually managed to tell us not to go after him. It's always lost in the wind or snow," Farkas pointed out, and Ria nodded in agreement.

"Well, surprise," Rowena countered, then frowned when she felt Brynjolf grab her shoulder in order to look her over. "I'm okay, Bryn. I told you I could handle one."

"There's a tear in your armor. Did you just…?"

"No, that happened with Miraak." Rowena replied, and was fairly grateful that the comment shut Brynjolf up, until a new worry crossed his face.

"Gods, Lass. Did he… ? Because I'll find a way to bring him back just to kill him if he did."

"Wha- oh, no! No! I just… monsters that pretty much had metal whips as appendages, and his sword was really…" she flinched, realizing that did nothing aside from making it sound like a creative way of saying what he was implying. "Short answer is no. It was just… cut. I was cut."

"Fine. But you're fine otherwise? You're not gonna pass out on us again, are you?"

Rowena glanced over at Hroar and Runa as they walked over, looking just as concerned. She took a few practice steps. "No, this time I think I'm good. That was nothing out of the norm. And I had us take the easy way out."

"I'll say,"

Rowena gave him a teasing shove that almost had him lunging to hug her in relief once again. She turned back to Ria and Farkas and tossed an arm around each of them, almost laughing at the awkward angle she ended up at in order to manage the height difference. "Are you guys still headed there? You need a rest? We're headed to Ivarstead if you'd like to stay with us for the night."

"No, gotta go to Riften, get the job done, then head right back," Farkas replied, and Ria nodded. "We can count on you to visit though when you're around Whiterun, right?"

"Do I ever pass all of you over?"

"We thought you did for a while there," Ria pointed out.

"Well, I didn't because I was across a body of water. And don't ever think that, you hear me?" Rowena countered playfully before pulling Ria into a hug. "We'll be there soon. We have a couple of days to get home, and then I'll stay for a bit and then hire a carriage out to see you. Deal?" she asked, moving onto Farkas, beaming and letting out a small squeak when he lifted her up into their hug.

"Deal," the others chorused.

Farkas put Rowena down and turned to Brynjolf and Teldryn. "You take good care of 'er or you'll have to deal with me, you hear?"

"Loud and clear, Lad," Brynjolf nodded.

"She's clearly capable of holding her own, but if puts you at ease…" Teldryn shrugged.

The groups went their separate ways, and after a while, Brynjolf got his horse to catch up to Shadowmere from his spot in the back. "So… you and Farkas have gotten cozy," he teased.

"That… would be one of my sister's departments, not mine."

"Well if I was- you have sisters? Why didn't you tell me? I-"

"Yes. And Don't you dare,"

Brynjolf smirked. "Wasn't gonna,"

"Yes you were,"

Brynjolf shrugged. "Worth a shot," he replied. "Soo, how many younger and impressionable ones run in your family?"

"I'm the most gullible of them all, so you're out of luck," Rowena insisted. She leaned over and gave him a pat on the cheek before looking ahead at Hroar, Runa and Teldryn. "How are you three up there?"

"Fine!" Teldryn called back. "These two were just telling me about the adventures they had pretending they were all the Dragonborn 'til you came along."

"Oh? And how did Grelod take that?" Rowena asked.

"Not well, I imagine," Brynjolf cut in.

"What Uncle Bryn said. She told us to stop, but we never did."

"Then you were definitely makes you your Ma's kids," Brynjolf replied, chuckling when it earned a laugh from everyone else. "So, how far are we from Ivarstead, Lass?"

"Not far- shit," Rowena cut herself off, and within seconds she had an arrow set up to fire and she let in fly. It zoomed past Teldryn's shoulder and a matter of seconds later there was a pained grunt and part of the bushes on the horizon that had been level suddenly caved in. "Teld!"

"Far ahead of you," Teldryn replied before dismounting and charging up the hill, starting up a couple of shock spells as he did so.

Rowena rode ahead a few feet and prepped another arrow, leaving Brynjolf to circle the group and wait, expecting an ambush.

There was more rustling and shouting until Teldryn came stumbling back onto the path, favoring his shoulder.

"Teld?" Rowena dismounted.

"Get back on. Trouble's over. Five bandits- thought they stood a chance if they ran at me," Teldryn replied.

"Your shoulder…" Rowena walked over and let her hand hover over his.

Brynjolf felt a pang of jealousy and looked away. It wasn't the time.

"It's fine. Just give me one of the potions," Teldryn replied, then when she didn't move he stepped away. "Well, go on. Standing there's not going to do me any good!"

"Right, sorry," Rowena deadpanned before going to retrieve the intended item and hurrying back with it. She uncorked it and handed it to him before smirking a bit.

Teldryn looked her up and down. "Yes, I know, you're about to shatter the illusion and that's such a perfect thing to do," he deadpanned before reaching up to unclasp his helmet. He took it off, gave his head and gave his head a good shake.

Brynjolf was honestly surprised that a dark elf was under the armor. Sure, he had never bought into the racism- every creature mer or human alike either fell into the 'mark' or 'not mark' category if he said so himself, but the man didn't carry himself like an elf at all.

"Staring isn't going to change genetics, you know." Teldryn pointed out before downing one of the potions.

Rowena coughed awkwardly, not having expected that reaction, and Brynjolf waved his arms. "No, that's not- I don't have a problem with you, Lad. You're a decent one, a damned good fighter, and the boss likes you. That's all that matters," he replied, and when Teldryn shrugged and seemed to take that as an answer in his favor, Brynjolf gave Rowena a half-rough shove for her trouble. He was only moderately surprised when she shoved him right back.

They all waited a few moments before Brynjolf spoke up, trying to break the last bit of tension. "You get 'em all Lad, or do we need to do more?" Hopefully toying with him would get things back to normal.

And it did. "Got them all of course. Some of us do more than just circle the pack and try to look protective," Teldryn replied, and Brynjolf could hear the elf's smirk.

"Well, I'm not leaving the kids alone, and not all of us can have Dragonborn strength or hyped up magic, now can we?" Brynjolf countered.

"Boys," Rowena insisted.

"Just a spot of fun to fix what trouble I started, Lass," Brynjolf shrugged.

"Harmless," Teldryn added.

Rowena smiled and shook her head. "Then come on. If there's no trouble, we can probably make it to Ivarstead by sunset."

"You sure we can manage that with you being you?" Brynjolf countered.

Rowena shrugged. "One way to find out,"

And so they were on their way again.

But as per usual, Brynjolf was right in all the wrong ways. They had just made it into the city limits when Teldryn heard something and hopped off of his horse again. Brynjolf had his horse stop. "No, I heard it- something about-"

"Cats and rats," Rowena replied, and when Brynjolf glanced at her to nod, she was paler than usual.

"Lass, what-"

"Bryn, get the kids, get in the first house on the left and don't come out until I come and find me, you got it? I need to go make sure Teldryn isn't about to get himself killed."

"Ro, what-"

"An… acquaintance. A… mentally unstable acquaintance. Rowena replied.

"Brotherhood?" Brynjolf asked.

"Ask later, check in now. Go. Go go go, all of you," Rowena insisted, hopping off of her horse, making sure Hroar and Runa dismounted and Brynjolf herded them off.

Rowena pulled Chillrend out from its sheath and followed the singing for a few yards until she spotted a few fireballs blasting to the left, heading for a spot where maniacal laughter was coming from. She swore and charged for the center of the field where the two would undoubtedly meet shortly. She made it and tossed up twin wards, just as the two others reached the spot.

"Rowena…!" Teldryn warned, launching another fireball at the blur of black and orange trying to fight its way through the ward.

"Both of you stop!" Rowena called, and when that didn't stop the blur, she sighed. "FUS RO!" and the blur went flying back a few feet.

Teldryn watched it hit the ground and then watched as it took a distinctively jester-like shape. "I suppose you're friends with him, then?"

"Shhh!" Rowena hissed.

The jester all but roared and got up, but upon seeing Rowena stopped short. "Oooooh! Listener! Cicero has wondered when you would return!" he clapped, then scowled. "But why are you protecting this filthy, filthy cheat?!" he prepared to lunge again, but another half of a shout stopped him.

"Because he is my friend, and he's not to be harmed by you or any of the rest of our organization, understand?" she demanded and sighed heavily, figuring the threat was over. "Teldryn, meet Cicero- now for your own sake, get a drink with Bryn. I have to see what business he's attending to."

"But-"

"Just do it,"

"I'm not leaving you with this madman-"

"He's… I know him."

"And that's the deciding factor of leaving you alone?"

"As my hireling, leave now."

Teldryn looked between the two before heaving a dramatic sigh. " Just… _shout_ if you need us."

"Mm-hm,"


End file.
